# Is "The Waves" by Virginia Woolf a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Waves by Virginia Woolf (The Hogarth Press, 1931) is identified by: First edition, first issue: The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Kirkpatrick A16a; Woolmer 279). The UK Hogarth Press printing of 1931 is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace edition of 1931 is the first American edition and follows it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first issue: The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Kirkpatrick A16a
- Woolmer 279)
- Octavo, in publisher's purple cloth with the spine lettered in gilt, issued in the pictorial dust jacket designed by the author's sister Vanessa Bell
- The copyright page carries the statement First published in 1931 without any later impression note; the first impression was followed within the same month by a second impression, so the absence of any impression statement is the key first-issue point
- The Bell jacket should retain its printed price to the flap
- Publisher imprint reads The Hogarth Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Virginia Woolf |
| Publisher | The Hogarth Press |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first issue: The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Kirkpatrick A16a |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first issue: The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Kirkpatrick A16a; Woolmer 279). Octavo, in publisher's purple cloth with the spine lettered in gilt, issued in the pictorial dust jacket designed by the author's sister Vanessa Bell. The copyright page carries the statement First published in 1931 without any later impression note; the first impression was followed within the same month by a second impression, so the absence of any impression statement is the key first-issue point. The Bell jacket should retain its printed price to the flap.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Hogarth Press printing of 1931 is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace edition of 1931 is the first American edition and follows it. The first-issue Hogarth binding is purple cloth gilt-lettered on the spine, and the first-issue jacket is Vanessa Bell's design.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is a first. The US Harcourt Brace printing is a separate, later issue; and later Hogarth impressions (a second impression appeared the same month) state their impression on the copyright page, unlike the unmarked first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Waves* by Virginia Woolf a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-waves
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.